


A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away- Cophine!

by FunkyPangolin



Category: Orphan Black (TV), Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, BAMF Women, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Torture, Science, Sith Shenanigans, Torture, Women Being Awesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-25
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2018-08-10 23:57:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 17,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7866766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FunkyPangolin/pseuds/FunkyPangolin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Republic Agent Dr Cosima Niehaus poses undercover as an Imperial Scientist to gain information on a possible Bioweapon that is being developed. However she may end up finding more than she bargained for in the form of a beautiful and mysterious captive.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Undercover

“Right, Cos. You ready for this? We’ll extract you if need be, but we need you to stay in as long as possible for us to find out what the Imps are planning.” Sarah was fitting her with a small earpiece.  
“Don’t worry Sarah, this will be fine.” Cosima replied in her Republic accent, whilst giving her a toothy grin.  
  
Sarah sighed.  
  
“Cos. Remember to use your Imperial accent and be careful. You want to blend in. Your references should serve but, if the Imps get suspicious and start digging any deeper, they probably won’t hold water. After all, Caroline Noonan doesn’t actually exist. Tell me your cover one more time.”  
  
“My name is Dr. Caroline Noonan, I am an Imperial Scientist fresh from the academy on Dromund Kaas, top of my class, assigned to DYAD to develop imperial technologies. I specialise in Biogenetics, technocorporeal implants and epidemiology. Long live the Emperor and Glory to the Empire.” Cosima replied with a bored tone of voice.  
  
“Good. Make it a bit more convincing though, yeah? You have to look as if you live and breathe the bloody Empire, alright?”  
Cosima laughed. Sarah always had a way with words. But then she had grown up as a rough, tough bounty hunter, not allied with the Mandalorians or the Empire, until she changed her ways. The Republic had looked down on her, but Commander S had taken her under her wing and she had quickly become one of the most dedicated troopers to ever serve in the Republic Infantry.  
Cosima put on the rest of her gear. She wore a black and white tunic emblazoned with the red Imperial insignia and grey leggings with tidy black boots. Her dreads had sadly been brushed out into a black, neat bun and her signature eye makeup was replaced with muted eyeshadow. She barely even recognised herself.  
 _That’s the idea, Cosima._  
She had arrived to Dromund Kaas on a standard transport ship under a false name, wearing civilian clothes. She couldn’t help but falter slightly under the gaze of the imperial troopers at the Starport as they scrutinised her identification.  
Felix was waiting for her with her gear in a safehouse just outside of Kaas city.  
“You’ll do fine. Just keep your cool, yeah?”  
So it transpired that Cosima was on a taxi to the Headquarters of Imperial Intelligence; a dark, imposing building connected to the ominous Sith Sanctum and Mandalorian Enclave. She walked in confidently, and was greeted by Dr Leekie himself. Leekie had been a top Imperial scientist for years, being involved in the team that engineered the Rakghoul plague on Taris. Cosima made to clench her fists and then though better of it, instead reaching for a firm handshake which Leekie returned.  
“The esteemed Dr Leekie, I presume? Dr Noonan, at your service.”  
  
“It’s a pleasure, Dr Noonan,” He smiled and Cosima thought he was creepy to say the least.  
  
“Let me show you to your lab.”  
Cosima followed him in a purposeful stride down various stairs and lifts to the basement of the building, through some high security doors and into a large laboratory. There was someone else inside with her back turned, a beautiful mane of golden curly hair trailing down her back that she was about to put into a ponytail.  
“Ahem.”  
The woman span round immediately and fearfully as Dr Leekie made his presence known.  
She was absolutely beautiful; pale, tall and willowy, with large hazel eyes.  
 _Shit._ She was familiar. She was Dr Delphine Cormier, the brilliant Republic scientist who developed the Rakghoul vaccine on Taris. Her face had graced the screens of every news holostation in the Republic sectors. Her convoy was ambushed six months ago and it was burned to the ground. It was assumed there had been no survivors.  
  
“This is Delphine, our asset.” He smiled darkly.  
Delphine swallowed.  
“I’m sure she can show you around. You’ll be working with her on this project.” With that, he left, and Delphine seemed to actually breathe.  
Cosima approached her and stuck out her hand.  
“Hello, my name is Dr Noonan.” Cosima feigned ignorance at her odd reaction.  
  
“Pleasure to meet you.” But Delphine wouldn’t meet her eyes and it certainly didn’t look like a pleasure.  
Delphine turned round and lifted her hair at the back of her neck trying to put it into a ponytail once again, revealing a large silver implant.  
Feeling Cosima’s gaze on the back of her neck, she hurriedly explained:  
“I worked for the Republic, but I was captured and now I work here.”  
  
 _Say something Cosima, something convincing._  
  
“I see. Show me around.” Cosima barked in her most Imperial voice possible.  
Delphine’s eyes hardened and she recoiled as if she had been struck.  
 _Ouch. Sorry Delphine, but it’s really helping you, even if you don’t know it yet._  



	2. Reporting for Duty

  
Cosima and Delphine worked mostly in an uncomfortable silence after that. Reading the reports, Delphine had clearly made a lot of progress with genetically modifying a viral strain similar to Influenza before Cosima had arrived. It was a biological superweapon, capable of destroying civilisations. It appeared to be highly infectious with a short gestation time and a predicted 97% mortality rate.  
  
 _Shit._  
  
It was showing a lot of progress and yet when Delphine left, Cosima decided to look into the base sequence of the viral DNA. Something was odd. Cosima just couldn’t explain it. The virus had been very successful in the preliminary experiments but then something had happened and it some of the reports indicated that it was failing. Nevertheless, according to Delphine’s report in curly handwriting- she was given limited access to technology- everything was going well. Cosima frowned.  
Delphine returned after being summoned. She wouldn’t look at Cosima, instead massaging her neck. Cosima guessed that she had been punished for something and she wanted so badly to comfort her, but she had to remain detached for the sake of her cover.  
It was six pm and Cosima’s shift was over. She looked at Delphine wistfully and then left, muttering a quick goodbye.

She returned to her Imperial apartment in Kaas city to have a shower before holocasting Felix at the safe house. She swept the house for bugs before doing so and removed them; placing them in a soundproof box.  
“Status report”  
  
“Oi oi Cos, how did it go?” Felix seemed chipper as usual.  
  
“It’s worse than we thought. Can you link me with Hendrix?”  
  
“Uh, sure.” Felix looked surprised, his eyes wide.  
Alison Hendrix, the chief of Operations appeared on the Holo next to Felix, her mouth twisted in its signature grimace. She was quite highly strung and Cosima didn't know her all that well, as she had only recently been placed in command, after Evie Cho, her predecessor, defected to the Imperials.  
“What’s going on, agent?” She chimed in her melodic voice.  
  
“It’s not good sir, the virus is more progressed than we first thought.”  
Hendrix sighed heavily, her straight fringe framing her severe face.  
“How bad?”  
  
“Bad, sir. Projected 97% Mortality rate, highly infectious, gestation time of a few hours.”  
  
“Holy Fishsticks. Well, try and find if there is any mention of a cure or any limits to its spread.”  
  
“It doesn’t appear to be able survive in the presence of a  
living cell at the moment, sir.”  
  
“That’s at least good news, although it won’t last.”  
“There’s something else. The Imps have Dr Delphine Cormier working for them.”  
Felix joined in at this point “Really?! Frenchie betrayed us? Bloody hell, I went to her funeral!”  
Alison silenced him with a look.  
“Dr Cormier has defected? How can this be possible?”  
  
“Well, she hasn’t exactly defected, she’s their captive; she’s made to work for them.”  
  
“That seems strange to me; Delphine was one of the most promising and loyal scientists I’ve ever met. I thought she would rather have died than betray us. Watch her closely.” Alison frowned; deep in thought.  
  
“If it turns out that she is still loyal, can she be included in the extraction plan?” Cosima asked hopefully.  
  
“Perhaps. Good work, Agent. Keep at it, Cosima.”  
Cosima fell on her bed after that. She could only think of Delphine. The way her golden hair fell upon her back, her eyes and how they were the colour of autumn and how she had cried so silently earlier. She had to do something to help her, no matter what Hendrix said. She was falling hard for her mysterious colleague.  
Sleep didn’t come easily and when it did, she dreamed only of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I decided to upload a few more chapters because I am impatient and the story is mostly written, anyway.  
> Much love,  
> FunkyPangolin


	3. Introductions

The next day, Delphine noticed Dr Noonan enter the lab slowly as if she was tired. She peered timidly over the edge of her microscope as she saw the sluggish movements of her colleague.   
_Et Quoi, Delphine? She is the same as all of them. Why do you even care?_  
But she did care. Even the Imps had lives. Delphine supposed that many people in the Empire, like the Republic, were trying to do as well as they could with what they were given. This Dr Noonan probably wasn’t any different.  
“What’s your first name?” The words burst from her mouth unbidden; curiosity getting the better of her.  
 _Merde!_  
“Caroline.” She heard a tired voice reply. And then a question:  
  
“Are you from Francara?”  
  
“Yes” Delphine affirmed quietly.  
  
“Mmmm” was all she received from Caroline.  
Francara was a settlement on Naboo, one of the few places in the Galaxy where humans didn’t speak Imperial or Republic English, instead speaking the French of the old world.  
“I’ll be back in a minute. Would you like anything? Food?”  
Delphine was taken aback by this sudden kindness.  
“Non, thank you; I have food. I am not allowed to leave.” She jabbed her elbow in the direction of the small cooling cabinet behind her, where various protein sachets were stored.  
  
“What, really?” Caroline sounded shocked.  
  
“I am escorted out by the guards at 11pm each night.” Delphine smiled sadly.  
She didn’t see the grimace that her colleague pulled.  
After she left, it was quiet for a while. Delphine liked the quiet; the sound of her heartbeat, the hum of the centrifuges and power consoles. She liked to pull up a holograph of DNA into the middle of the room; to touch it with her fingers. Even though she had nothing else, she would always have her science.  
Suddenly, the silence was broken by someone using the hydraulic door.  
It was Dr Leekie, sporting a rather sinister expression.  
 _Merde!_  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Cosima bought some food from a vendor in Kaas city centre and enveloped it in bio film to preserve the heat and moisture until she got back to the lab. Truth was she missed Delphine and she had bought her some Nerf jerky, even though she didn’t want anything.  
She boarded the taxi back to the lab and swept through the doors, not getting lost anymore, her comfortable boots clacking softly against the durasteel floors.   
But when she reached the lab, she saw something she didn’t think that she was meant to see. The labs had one way glass so that she could see in but no-one could see out. Useful tactics for Republic captives like Delphine, she supposed. Keep them in the dark as much as possible.  
And what she saw disturbed her.  
Dr Leekie was behind Delphine, slightly taller than her and his hands were wandering down into her labcoat. Her expression was glazed and silent tears pooled in the corners of her eyes, her knuckles were white from holding onto the workbench in a vice grip.  
 _Yeah, this isn’t gonna fly, Creepy Leekie. What to do, Cosima? Think!_  
And then she had an idea.  
Cosima pulled the switch next to hear, activating the emergency sprinklers which showered Delphine and Leekie in water. He pulled away instantly in disgust and Cosima hid from view so he wouldn’t think that she had done anything. She waited for a minute until he was gone and stepped inside the lab.  
“Thank you.” Came a small, teary voice from the other end of the lab as Delphine pulled on a drier workshirt, exposing her pale, freckled skin and the soft curves of her back and spine.  
Cosima’s mouth grew dry. Delphine was certainly a beautiful woman.  
“For what?” She croaked hoarsely.  
  
 _“Him.”_ Delphine replied darkly.  
  
“I don’t know what you mean.” She sighed heavily “Take this.” She threw the bag of Nerf Jerky at her.  
Luckily she caught it gracefully, her wet, now dark blonde hair spraying a small amount of water onto the wall behind her, and squealed with delight.  
“Nerf Jerky?! Merci!” And Cosima caught her hazel eyes, briefly sparkling with joy.  
  
“Alright don’t get too excited, it came with this and I don’t much like it.” Cosima motioned nonchalantly to her parcel of food.  
  
It was a blatant lie, she loved Nerf Jerky and had bought it for her especially.  
  
“It is the first real food I have had in months.” Delphine admitted sadly, as she chewed a piece, savouring the tough texture and salty, smoky taste on the tip of her tongue.  
Cosima felt so bad for her in that moment. She was a captive, forgotten about by her people, forced to work eighteen hours a day, under the supervision of a man who clearly wanted more from her than science.  
She wondered how she had survived this long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Francara is something entirely made up, and does not exist in any Star Wars Canon. I wanted to retain Delphine's french aspect so I included so she could be French even though this is the SW universe. Also the timeline of this fic is "The Old Republic" which if anyone has ever played Knights of the Old Republic or SWTOR, is that timeline. For the rest of you people who aren't that up-to-date with Star Wars history, this means that the fic is set a few thousand years before Luke, Leia, Vader and any of those peeps are around. There are no Rebels at this point, just the Galactic Republic (The good guys) and the Empire (The bad guys). The Galactic Republic controls Coruscant and most of the Core Worlds and The Empire controls a few worlds in the area of Space known as the Seat of Empire. The rest of the Planets they fight over, and some also belong to the Hutts (Think of Jabba the Hutt).   
> Much Love,  
> FunkyPangolin


	4. Not as it seems

  
After her colleague left, Delphine sighed contentedly. She still had some of her Nerf Jerky and she realised that Caroline cared about her. All in all, it had been one of the best days she had had in a long time.  
She pulled up a holograph of the virus, zooming in with her fingers. She knew it was strange that she talked to herself, but a lot of the time, the lack of human interaction, and the silence could be very deafening.  
  
“Salut, my dear Orthomyxoviridae republicus.” She smiled knowingly as she carried on with her gene editing of the protein coat.  
She had covertly edited the security cameras using the power console so that they would loop footage after six pm, so that no-one saw what she was really doing.  
In truth, she had developed a new strain of influenza not for any reason other than to destroy it.

She had initially wanted to use bacteria, because of the way that she could edit the plasmids and then hopefully pass on these characteristics to other forms of bacteria through horizontal gene transmission, but the Imps had been extremely resistant to the idea, saying that it was far too easy for the Republic to develop antibiotics. After she had protested this, she had been subject to a very unpleasant interrogation, before she finally convinced them that she had no ulterior motives, which was, obviously untrue.  Delphine had learned the hard way about the various methods of torture utilised by the Empire. So she had no choice but to relent.  
It had taken many months but she had managed to substitute a nucleotide in the viral DNA, causing a nonsense mutation and misfolding of the proteins which made the protein coat. This meant that the virus was immediately digested by the enzymes in the host’s body before it could replicate.

Delphine was rather proud of her creation and had dedicated it to the people of the Republic a long time ago, when she still had hope that they would come for her. Her virus would save countless lives and she had made sure to destroy the prototypes every evening so that the Imperials could never make it work without her. Unfortunately, she knew that they would soon find out and kill her, but she had bought some time for these civilians, at least.  
She didn’t really care if she died anyway; she had nothing to live for now.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the science in this is correct, but I have skipped over various parts of the gene editing process for the bacteria as they don´t add much to the story. Also when I say that the enzymes would immediately digest the virus, I am using some creative license and I am also assuming that the SW universe has more scientific advancements than we do currently. If you want to know more I would suggest following these links as these really are fascinating processes:  
> https://www.neb.com/tools-and-resources/feature-articles/crispr-cas9-and-targeted-genome-editing-a-new-era-in-molecular-biology  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replica_plating  
> http://www.cell.com/trends/microbiology/pdf/S0966-842X(15)00019-0.pdf  
> http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/mutations_03


	5. Twenty Questions

When Cosima turned up to work that morning, Delphine was eating her breakfast and leaning against one of the countertop. She chewed listlessly as she took another bite of the beige coloured nutrient bar. Cosima noticed that she was also holding the bag of Nerf Jerky from yesterday in her other hand and smiled to herself before Delphine could notice her.

As she stepped she heard a soft “Bonjour”  
She smiled at Delphine, who, despite eating something that hardly resembled food, seemed to be in a good mood.  
“Hello” She replied. It was hard to remember that she couldn't say “Hi” or “Hey, dude” but she managed to catch herself in time.  
They worked pretty silently for a few hours afterwards, but remarkably, there was no awkwardness. It was as if they were old friends that had worked together for years. After three hours the door sensor beeped to remind them both that it was their ten minute break. Cosima was initially surprised that Delphine even got a break but realised that it was probably an oversight or to make sure that no mistakes were made due to tiredness. After all, it was not in the nature of the Imperials to be kind.  
She motioned for Delphine to join her on one of the high stools in the corner of the room.  
Delphine perched on the edge warily. After all, Cosima knew that she had no real reason to trust her.  
Cosima decided that now was a good time to break the ice.  
“Have you heard of a game called 'Twenty Questions'?”  
  
At this Delphine´s eyes widened.  
  
“In this game, I would ask you a question, where you must respond with the truth and then you could ask me one, until we get to twenty. I thought this might make us more efficient coworkers.”  
In truth, Cosima was just curious about this beautiful woman sitting in front of her.

Delphine relented to the idea but insisted on going first.  
“Do you have any siblings?”  
  
“Oh...I wasn´t expecting that. Yes I have four sisters. We are quintuplets.”  
  
“That is rare” Delphine raised her eyebrows. Cosima got a small glimpse of the woman inside.  
  
“Yes it is. Do you have any siblings?” Cosima countered.  
  
“Oui. I have a brother called Laurent. He is a Sith.” Her eyes glazed over at this point.  
  
 _Strange. Strange that he isn´t a Jedi, because Naboo is a part of the Republic._  
Cosima pretended that Delphine’s admission didn´t surprise her.  
So, they continued until their break was over. Cosima learned that Delphine’s favourite colour was white and told her that hers was red. She learned that in addition to French and Basic, Delphine could also speak Gungan and Aurebesh, the two other main languages on Naboo and could read and write the Futhork alphabet. Delphine came from a modest farming settlement, while Cosima made up that she was from Nar Shadaa originally but moved to Dromund Kaas when she was young.  
Delphine seemed more at ease after this and seemed to look at Cosima curiously when they were working, biting her lip sheepishly when Cosima caught her staring.

Two hours later, it was time for lunch and Cosima went to the markets in Kaas city as she always did to get some food. She saw some Ikopi cheese imported from Naboo, which Delphine had talked about as being her favourite food and bought a few slices with bread even though it set her back about 400 credits. Apparently Ikopi were herbivores with antlers who were often domesticated to make the cheese which was considered a delicacy there.  
Delphine smiled at her when she returned and she stepped up to her to give her the gift. But she was staring so intensely into her hazel and green eyes which narrowed with something like arousal, mirroring her own and suddenly the tension in the room was palpable until Delphine leaned forward and met Cosima's lips with her own in a soft but searing kiss.

Cosima pulled back after a moment, becoming aware of the many cameras in the room and pushed the cheese into her arms.  
She was very grateful and although they didn't talk after that, they would often catch each other´s eyes and smile knowingly.  
Delphine stepped into the other room for a few minutes and Cosima took the chance to look at the virus once again. This week´s replica plates sat on the table and she leafed through their documentation, not finding anything out of the ordinary until she saw the proposed name for the strain, that Delphine had obviously kept hidden.  
  
 _Orthomyxoviridae republicus? Republicus? What on earth is she doing?_  
  
As Delphine returned Cosima closed the files and tucked them under some other pieces of paper, before making it back to her desk just in time.  


At five, Cosima decided to go to the staff scientists' room to make some coffee for the both of them as she would be working until seven thirty tonight because Creepy Leekie had asked her to earlier.  
She nodded her head to Delphine and left, leisurely walking down the corridor before waiting for the lift to the twenty first floor where the rest of her supposed colleagues were.


	6. Trapped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning for attempted rape and also language. If this upsets you then please avoid this chapter and I will provide a synopsis of this chapter in the author's notes of Chapter 7.

_Mon dieu. That was a bad idea. But her lips were so soft, and she cares about you, Delphine! Merde! What am I going to do now? Keep it together, Delphine! You still have to finish the virus!_  
That was true, she did have to make sure that there were no unintentional flaws in the virus, so that it worked (or rather didn’t work) in the intended manner.  
She busied herself with that for half an hour, until her colleague returned, even though the camera would most definitely show what she was doing as it wasn’t six pm yet. That kiss had awakened something inside her. Something like recklessness.

Something like hope.  
The silence was interrupted abruptly by someone using the hydraulic door. Delphine quickly turned off the power console she was using. It was Leekie again.   
_Merde! Act normal, Delphine._

But he had an unsettling look about him.  
“Dr Leekie?” She posited cautiously.  
  
“Delphine. You are working late.”  
  
“Yes.” She replied tersely.  
  
“I was wondering if you would like to pick up where we left off, before we were so rudely interrupted by those sprinklers?” It was not an offer that she could refuse.  
Delphine swallowed.  
 _Non! You pig, I would not like to._

He took a step towards her and she shuffled back slightly. But there was nowhere to run. She was cornered.  
However, he had underestimated her; she wouldn’t take it lying down. She was going to fight him. No longer was she going to be weak. She was a respected scientist before all this; she had a reputation for being tough. She was not going to be meek or quiet.  
 _Let him try, the Imperial swine!_

Without warning, he lunged at her and grabbed her wrists and pushed her into the wall. The air was knocked out of her lungs and her vision went white for a second. She screamed for help.  
 _Merde! He is strong!_  
“No-one is going to hear you down here, except for me. No-one else will have the pleasure of hearing it when you scream my name. Scream all you want. Nobody is coming to save you, filthy republic bitch!” His smile was sinister.  
She kicked him in the knee and managed to free one of her wrists. She awkwardly backhanded him across the face. That made him angry and he punched her in the nose, releasing spurts of blood which coated her face. She cried out in pain.  
She tried to bite his face as he drew nearer and caught his cheek, clamping down hard. He roared in pain. She could feel his blood pooling in her mouth until he slammed her into the wall again. He started to rip her work shirt down the middle, touching her breasts, as she slammed against him as hard as she could.  
Suddenly, he grabbed her wrists and span her around, crashing her pelvic bone into the work bench. She struggled against him, knocking off beakers and test tubes, which shattered onto the floor. He bent her over the table, pressing her head onto the cold steel. She scrabbled at the table, leaving bloody fingerprints as she tried to elbow him from behind. But it was no use. He was stronger and she was in a compromised position. She could hear him trying to remove his trousers.  
 _Non. Non. Non. This cannot be happening. Not to me. Please no.  
Think, Delphine think. You are not afraid. You are angry. You have to be angry._

She closed her eyes and began to speak as he fumbled with his belt. Her voice was hoarse and gravelly as if she was possessed.  
“Peace is a lie. There is only passion.” She stared at the electrocentrifuge that sat on the desk.  
  
“Through passion I gain strength.” Slowly, the heavy piece of machinery began to lift off the surface. It levitated shakily in the air.  
  
“Through strength I gain power.”  
  
It lifted higher as she stared at it, not blinking. She knew the pig was saying something but she could not hear him, his voice was like static even as he tried to shake her out of her trance, even as he tried to remove her underwear.  
  
“Through power I gain victory.”  
  
Higher. It was above his head now.  
  
“Through victory my chains are broken. The Force shall free me!” It dropped on his head with a sickening crack and she heard him fall to the floor.  


_Is he dead?_  
  
 _Do I care?_  
  
 _Did I just make a terrible mistake in awakening my past?_  
  
The floodgates had been opened now; that was for sure.  



	7. Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as promised, a synopsis for those who chose not to read the previous chapter:
> 
> Creepy Leekie tries it on with Delphine while Cosima is away. They get into quite a heated fight and just when C.L. appears to have the upper hand, Delphine surprises us with some force powers and knocks him out/does some amateur trepanning. FYI, in case anyone was wondering what she recited was the Sith Code written by one Sorzus Syn. There's a past there, that's all I will say for now. Thanks for reading, pls leave a kudos, even better a comment.   
> Much love-  
> FunkyPangolin

Cosima entered the lab that afternoon in a good mood.  
Truthfully, she was still reeling from the kiss earlier and had brought coffee with bantha milk for both of them.  
But her smile started to falter as she took in her surroundings. There was smashed glassware all over the floor, and papers scattered everywhere.  
There were bloody handprints all over Delphine’s workbench, and a bloody trail which led to-  
Cosima dropped the coffees on the floor, spilling the hot liquid everywhere in shock, as she took in the sight before her.  
Dr Leekie was lying on the floor, bleeding profusely from a large headwound. A broken electrocentrifuge lay on the ground, bioglass covering the floor. Delphine crouched on her haunches next to Leekie, checking his pulse with a rather glazed expression.  
Her hair was frizzy and matted with red, her face was deathly white above her nose, which was hugely swollen and bruised and had dripped all over the lapels of her labcoat.  
_Holy fucking shit!_  
  
“Delphine?” Cosima whispered, not wanting to startle her.  


She stirred sharply, turning to look at Cosima and stood instantly, smoothing the creases in her bloody trousers.  
_Yep that’ll definitely save those trousers. Shut up Cosima! Now is not the time for your sarcastic inner monologue!_  
But Delphine was in a strange state of calm.  
She turned her head up, chin jutting out defiantly, a fierce glint in her eyes.  
“He is not dead. It was self-defence. As if you care. I would be most grateful if you would just kill me right here and now, before you alert your superiors.” She said in a monotonous voice.  
_Right, Cosima.I guess it's time to blow your cover._

She crouched on the floor next to her; looming over her probably wasn’t the best idea.  
“It’s not your fault.” Cosima said firmly. “We need to get out of here.”  
  
At this, Delphine’s eyes became as wide as saucers.  
  
“Quoi? What do you mean, we?”  
  
“It’s complicated. Come on.” She tugged gently on the torn sleeve of Delphine’s lab coat.  
  
“I can’t leave.” Delphine motioned to her implant.  


Cosima had an idea.  
“Give me a minute.” Cosima pulled out her holocaster. She dialled for Scott, her friend who worked in the underworld. He was shady, but she could always count on him. Besides, he owed her a favour. His bespectacled face swam into view.  
  
“Scotty? Hey Scott, listen, about that favour…”She dialed up the charm, putting on her trademark fangy grin.  
  
“What do you need, Cosima?” Scott sighed.  


At this Delphine narrowed her eyes suspiciously and Cosima realised that, of course, Delphine still didn’t know that she was a spy under a fake name, and that she knew who Delphine was and that she was sabotaging the virus, somehow. They would need to have a talk later.  
“Scott, do you know how one would hypothetically go about removing a shock collar?” She asked hopefully.  
  
“You know that’s illegal, right?” He smirked.  
  
“Since when has that ever stopped you?”  
  
“Touché. It’s actually quite simple. All you have to do is press a small blue button and pinch the electrodes at the same time whilst pulling the whole thing off.” He mimed the motion.  
  
“Thanks, Scott, you’re the best.”  
  
“Who is it that you’re trying to free?” Scott asked, curiously.  
  
“Uh, no-one you know.” Cosima said quickly.  
  
“Fine, be like that then. We’re even now.” Scott sighed.  
  
“Of course, Scott. Thanks dude”.  


With that, she turned off the holocaster and put in her pocket.  
Delphine was eyeing her colleague suspiciously.  
“So is it Caroline or Cosima?” Delphine narrowed her eyes.  
She closed her eyes and sighed.  
“I’ll explain it all later. Now turn around so I can take this off and we can get out of here.”  
Delphine obliged, recoiling slightly when Cosima brushed her neck.  
“Sorry.” The brunette whispered under her breath.  
  
“Non. It is not you.”  
After a few moments, Delphine heard a click, and her neck felt considerably lighter.  
“Merci. But how are we going to get out of here without me being seen?”  
Cosima rummaged around in a hidden pocket on her lab coat, and pulled out a small, spherical probe.  
“Is that what I think it is?” Delphine’s eyes grew large again. She loved seeing all of this amazing technology.  
  
“Yep, it’s a stealth generator for you. You ready to go? I can give you some new clothes at my apartment.”  
  
“Wait a moment” Delphine walked into the corner to retrieve something and Cosima saw her place some vials just under the fire sensor.  
  
“Ammonium Perchlorate. You know what to do now?”  
Cosima understood the plan and input her administrator credentials into the lab thermoregulation system. She set the system to increase the temperature in the lab up to the maximum slowly over the course of an hour.  
“Should buy us an hour.” Cosima grimaced.  
She then activated the stealth generator for Delphine.  
“You need to stick close to me, preferably slightly behind me. You look invisible but people can still feel you if you bump into them. It also helps if you take your shoes off so they don't hear you.”  
Delphine removed her plastic slip-on shoes and held them by the heels with her left hand.  
They walked silently in single file through the facility. Cosima nodded her head to some of her colleagues so as not to arouse suspicion. They eventually reached the taxi and Delphine jumped in to the passenger seat as it sped off.

If she could see Delphine, she would have seen the way that her bruised face tilted towards the sky as rain dripped on her face, the way her eyes closed contentedly at the wind and the cold.  
But she heard an invisible voice:  
“I have not been outside for six months. It is beautiful.”  
Cosima didn’t know if she would use that word to describe Dromund Kaas, a planet where the skies were perpetually grey and full of rain, but she smiled at where she guessed Delphine’s face was, and even though she couldn’t see her, she knew that she was smiling back at her.  
She felt Delphine carefully interlace their fingers.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors note: Ammonium perchlorate is an unstable compound and therefore can explode under prolonged exposure to elevated temperatures. Source: https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/chemicals/reactive/react.html  
> https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/ammonium_perchlorate#section=Top  
> If someone who is really good at Chemistry is able to elaborate further/correct this, please do, and I will edit it. I am more of a biologist myself, currently studying it at Uni, so this is not my area of expertise.


	8. Safe House

She dropped Delphine off at the safe house in the Kaas City expansion area, noting that Felix wasn’t in.   
Delphine took in her surroundings curiously. The safe house was sparsely furnished, made to look mostly like an abandoned building taken over by squatters so as to not arouse suspicion. There was a bathroom with the bare essentials but no kitchen. Crates lined the wall, along with some foldable beds, a random assortment of chairs and an old, faded cantina loveseat in the middle of the room. Fake graffiti had been added expertly to the walls by Felix.

Delphine pressed a button on the probe and she reappeared in front of Cosima.   
Her arms were folded over the torn lab coat that hung loosely over her frame.  
“Time for that talk.” It was an order, Cosima had no doubt about that as she saw the fierce glint in the blonde’s eyes.  
  
“Yes.” She paused. “I am a spy. Of course, you probably know that already. Anyway, I’m a spy for the Republic. My real name is Cosima Niehaus. I was sent to find out about the bioweapon you are developing, well not you personally, because we thought you died, and we tried to find a cure using information about the virus. But then… it turns out that we don’t need one, thanks to you.” Cosima smiled at her, trying to convey how Delphine had saved the lives of millions in a single look. It was, of course, impossible.  
  
“You thought I died? That’s why no-one came looking for me. That’s why they forgot me.” Tears pooled in her eyes.  
  
“I’m so, so sorry, Delphine. I know it seems that way, but nobody knew that you survived. But… they named a town after you, on Taris.”  
Upon hearing that, Delphine smiled sadly.  
“Do I get to come with you, when you leave?” Even though she was taller than the brunette, she seemed incredibly small, in that moment.  
  
“Yes.” It was a promise that Cosima had no right to be making, but it was one she knew she would keep, come hell or high water.  


Cosima beckoned her over to the seat.  
“Please sit down so I can take a look at your nose.”  
Delphine obliged, perching on the end of the rather sunken loveseat.  
Cosima kneeled in front of her, slowly raising her fingers towards her nose, and prodding the cartilage gently. It wasn’t broken, luckily, but it was still swollen, nevertheless. Delphine winced softly, closing her eyes at the impact.  
“Right. Well, it isn’t broken, so that’s good. I am going to go and look for some kolto in those crates.” Cosima stood up and walked to the end of the room, rummaging around in the plasteel crates.  
  
“Eureka!” Delphine heard Cosima shout quietly.  
She snorted, despite herself and the blood that she had set off from her nostrils. It was a little known reference to the old world, when there was only one known habitable planet, where an early scientist had proclaimed the Greek phrase upon suddenly understanding that the volume of water in his bath that was displaced when he got in must be equal to the volume of his submerged body.

Cosima turned towards her at the sound, eyes sparkling knowingly until she saw the blood.  
“Shit. Hold this, I’ll go and get some bio wipes.”  
She handed Delphine a small droid probe, spherical, with a tube full of viscous green fluid in the bottom. She returned ten seconds later with the wipes and dabbed softly at Delphine’s nose, soaking up the blood. She then received the probe from Delphine and pressed the switch at the back so it hovered silently next to them. She stepped back and Delphine closed her eyes as the probe sprayed green mist at her face. The relief was immediate; she sank back in the loveseat as the pain in her face dissipated. She smiled at Cosima.  
“Merci, Cosima”  
  
“No worries dude,” Cosima flashed her a toothy grin. “Your face looks better already, although the bruising will have to heal on its own.”  
  
“Listen, there’s a shower here, if you want. I can get you some clothes.”  


Delphine stepped into the crude bathroom, separated from the rest of the rather open plan space by an old fashioned bead curtain.  
She sighed, as if someone had dropped the weight of the world on her shoulders. She removed her clothes swiftly and they pooled around her ankles as she stepped into the cold water. She liked it hot; hot to soothe her aching joints and heart.  
While she knew that the heart was a muscle that pumped blood around the body; it had no connection to her feelings, she still thought about love and such things as matters of the heart.  
Some things cannot be explained by science; she had accepted that long ago.  
The water ran red over her until eventually her hair and body were clean and free from blood. She was still quite anxious around water and so she made sure that very little of it touched her face, wiping it with her wet fingers and the end of a cloth when she got out. She was shivering slightly and pulled her wild curly hair back from her face, scrunching it behind her and tucking what she could behind her ears until she could find something to tie it back with. It had grown long during her time in captivity, she had usually tied it or braided it out of the way. She wondered if she should cut it, and then realised that this was probably not the time.

Cosima knocked on the wall after a few minutes.  
“Delphine? Are you OK?”  
  
“…Oui.”  
  
“Do you need any help?”  
  
“Please just go away, Cosima.” Delphine sighed softly.  
  
There was a second of uncomfortable silence, which Cosima broke.  
  
“I left some clothes for you on the loveseat.”  
  
“Merci.” Delphine was certainly grateful, even though she could have been better at showing it.  


Cosima left briefly after that to get something from her imperial apartment.  
Delphine savoured the silence as she dressed awkwardly in the clothes that Cosima had left. Luckily, they were quite loose fitting, reminiscent of Sith robes and they didn’t aggravate any of her injuries. Frowning, Delphine realised that they were Sith robes; plain and black, those typically worn by the newest acolytes.

She sat on the loveseat, knees under her chin once again. Suddenly she heard the door open. It couldn’t have been Cosima, as she had only just left and Delphine was just about to get up and hide when the intruder made themselves known.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BTW, the scientist that is mentioned is Archimedes, if anyone wants to know.  
> Sorry about the cliffhanger.  
> Hope you enjoyed it,  
> -FunkyPangolin


	9. Old Friends

“Del? Delphine?”  
It was Felix. He looked different, older somehow, even though it had only been six months since she saw him last. He looked so very out of place in his plain imperial citizen clothing, without any of his usual flair, hair smoothed down in what was very much a non-style. She stood up immediately after he said her name, careful to hide her face from him slightly.  
“Felix. It is really you. It is good to see you again, mon amie.” And it was. She was so very happy to see Felix. He positively beamed at her.  
  
“Same! Bloody hell, I thought you died! We all did; me, S, Sarah, Kira… we’ve missed you, Frenchie. Delphine…,” He paused and walked in the direction of her head. “What the fuck has happened to your face?!”  
  
His loud voice made Delphine shiver.  
  
“Shit… sorry.” He mumbled when he saw her reaction.  


He gave her a winning smile to reassure her like he used to do back in the day. When she was on her own on Coruscant and then Taris, after having left Naboo; fleeing a painful and secret past. She had fallen in with her colleagues well, and Felix especially had always made an effort to include her.

Back then, when none of them had really understood loss before. Before Jennifer and Katja died on Balmorra and before Beth’s starship was obliterated in the battle for Coruscant. When Veera and Niki would come and visit them at work before the sacking of New Helsinki, where Niki had died. Before Veera had disappeared into the cyber-underworld of Nar Shadaa. When they were all whole, with no cracks, no pieces worn away by death and destruction. When the world was good and pure, or at least good and pure enough for them all to exist outside of all the tragedy.  
“Seriously, though, who do I need to shiv?” Delphine couldn’t help the way the corners of her grimace turned up at this. Felix always had such a way with words. It was no surprise that she was so taken with Cosima. They were practically like siblings. Even when she was undercover, pieces of her vibrant personality would slip through the façade.  
  
“We are working on the shivving Felix.”  
  
“We? Oh you and Cosima…” He turned his head, looking around the safe house.”…Where is Cosima?”  


At that moment the door swung upon and Cosima walked in. For such a small and graceful person, she made a remarkable amount of noise.  
  
“Speak of the geek and she shall appear” Felix remarked ruefully.  
  
“Hey, Fee. I see you two have caught up.” She grinned, her positivity almost infectious.  
“Working on it darling. What’s the plan, then? I do love me a little Republic coup d’état.” Felix’s French accent was remarkably terrible but it made Delphine laugh.  
  
“Glad to see someone’s a little chipper.”  
  
Cosima butted in at this point. “Well, Fee, the plan at this point is actually to just get out of here.” She laid out the plan, her hands serving to illustrate everything as she and Felix looked at a holoprojection of the starport.  


Felix looked surprised.  
“I thought we had to destroy the virus.”  


At this point Delphine made her presence known again.  
“Felix, that will not actually be a problem, because... the virus doesn’t work. I made it not work on purpose.”  


Felix was stunned and Cosima grinned.  
“What are you on about?”  
  
“I sabotaged it. They were going to kill so many people, Felix.”  
  
 “Delphine, you are the bloody dog’s bollocks!” He hugged Delphine, who was initially surprised at the gesture but relaxed into his arms all the same. She started to sob, and Felix pulled away instantly.  
  
“Shite, sorry, did I hurt you?” His face pulled into a worried frown.  
  
“Non, it is not you, it’s just… I haven’t been hugged in so long.” She admitted sadly.  
  
“Bring it in, Cosima.”His hands beckoned before he looked at Delphine for confirmation. “Is a group hug OK?”  
  
“Oui, always.” And that was how Delphine fund herself engulfed by two frames, one tall and awkward and the other small, who latched onto her like a puppy.  


_It is good to be back._  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
Delphine was alone in the safe house some time later as Cosima and Felix were undertaking the preparation for their extraction plan in Kaas city. She sat crosslegged in the loveseat, staring into space, or rather counting the penises in Felix’s fake graffiti.

She wondered if he had found anyone who loved him. He certainly deserved it. And so did Cosima. The kiss that they had shared was wonderful, but she had so much baggage. Cosima deserved much more, and so when they were back, Delphine was going to tell her to forget about her. It would hurt them both, but she knew she was too much of a mess for Cosima. Naïve, vibrant Cosima, who was full of hope and goodness while she was sad and damaged.

_I will not inflict my damage upon her._  
She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t hear the footsteps, didn’t feel a presence behind her until she was being sprayed in the face, and suddenly everything blurred inward from the edges and she couldn’t see clearly.  
She tried to fight, but she couldn’t lift her arms, it was as if they were made of lead and she couldn’t will herself to move.  
Suddenly she was being half-lifted, half-dragged off the seat and onto the floor until her vision gave in to the blackness that had been threatening to consume her.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
Cosima and Felix wandered into the safe house a few hours later, pleased with the extraction plan that Hendrix had helped them set up. She had, of course, worried and micromanaged everything until S had finally stepped in with a decisive idea as usual. Whilst Alison was the official head of the SIS and handled the paperwork and bureaucracy, S was really the one who called the shots.  


The plan was neat and tidy and assured that they would be back on Coruscant by the end of tomorrow.  
“Delphine? Hey, it’s a go, so you can check in with your folks on Naboo tomorrow if you want” Cosima called into the empty space. She was puzzled when she received no response.  
 _Whatever, she’s probably asleep or something._  
Except she wasn’t. There was absolutely no sign of her in the safe house.  


Cosima saw that one of the chairs had been knocked over and that there was a small trail of blood leading out of the safe house.  
“Shit,… Fee?! She’s been taken!” She addressed Felix who stood behind her, looking rather green.  
  
“Bollocks, we need to call S.”  
  
“And Helena.” Felix pursed his lips at this. Although Helena had always helped them in the past, there was no denying that she played rather loose and fast with her morals, even after defecting to the Jedi after being a Sith.  


But, this was a serious situation and desperate measures had to be taken before the shit really hit the fan.  
Felix pulled out his holocaster and called the Republic lieutenant.  
  
“S? We’ve got a bit of problem here.”  
  
Siobhan’s face swam into view. She was wearing her full plastiplate armour and was polishing one of her numerous assault cannons. Nobody that didn’t know her would believe that she was actually a fairly patient, sweet-tempered woman.  
  
Her face pulled into a grimace when she heard the word “problem”.  
  
“What is it, chicken?”  
  
“The Imps have taken Delphine- it turns out that the safe house wasn’t so safe after all.”  
  
“Fuck!” S turned to Cosima at this point who was kicking a stool into the corner, practically pulling out her hair.  


S realised then that something more was going on between them.  
“Let’s go get the lass, then.”  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I live for the Felix/Delphine BrOTP and I hope it happens in canon because they are both so fabulous, darling!  
> I am thinking that I will update every Friday, but I have decided to lengthen the chapters.  
> Much love-  
> FunkyPangolin
> 
> P.S. New Helsinki is really not a thing, but please imagine it is.


	10. For the Republic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said Friday, but patience is not a virtue I possess.  
> The sh*t really hits the fan in this chapter. TW for Leekie being a creep as always, torture and arson. Our lovely ladies kick some arse in this chapter, so enjoy.  
> Much love,  
> Funky Pangolin

Everything was…  
Hazy.  


Delphine blinked a few more times, a room with very red walls coming into view.  
“Red?” She didn’t realise she had said that out loud.  
“It helps to hide the blood” A sinister voice responded.  
Suddenly a familiar face swam into view.  
  
Leekie.  


He was smiling at her and no light was reaching his eyes. She began to shiver intensely at the sight of him. His face! He had clearly had to have surgery on his head. A large section of biosteel was embedded horribly in his skull, one of his eyes replaced with a false one with a red iris and bright blue shimmering pupil. Another person stood in the corner of the room mostly hidden from view. Even in her clouded mental state she recognised her as Dr Marion Bowles, her dark hair pinned up in an elaborate series of braids, wearing not her usual stylish cream labcoat but a black form fitting tunic. She suddenly felt quite cold.

Why was she so cold?  
She looked down and saw that she had been stripped of her robes and was now wearing nothing but standard grey imperial underwear and that she was attached upright by her wrists, ankles and neck to a stretcherlike contraption.  
This was bad. Even when she had been tortured before, they had never used a red room and it was always a chair that she had been fastened to. They meant to kill her this time, it seemed.  
“I undressed you. I remember that I didn’t really get a good look last time even though it definitely felt rather exquisite until you interrupted me.” He smiled at her and she felt bile rise up in her throat.  


Delphine could see Marion’s smug half smile be replaced by a severe frown as she realised to what Leekie was referring.  
“Really, Aldous? We are not savages.”  
  
“Oh my dear Marion, do not suddenly pretend you have scruples. Hypocrisy doesn’t suit you.”  


His tone was polite and level but dripping with disdain for his colleague.  
He cleared his throat before looking at Delphine again.  
“Now. You are going to tell us about the virus you were working on. The truth, this time. Your fabrications will cost you dearly. And don’t think that you can surprise me with sudden Force powers this time; the injection will make sure of that.”  
  
“I am not afraid of you” Delphine declared, more bravely than she felt. Truthfully, she was extremely afraid of them both. They were clearly sociopaths who delighted in the pain of others.  
  
“I am afraid that that is the wrong answer. You see, my dear Dr Cormier,” rolling the first ‘r’ softly “I forgot to mention that non-pertinent information is a waste of my valuable time and therefore, has consequences.”

He pulled a very small, thin knife from a wallet on the metal counter in the corner of the room. “I suppose that we could have used an interrogation drone, but something about a personal touch is inherently more satisfying, wouldn’t you agree?”  
  
Delphine was sweating from fear at this point, the cold dampness seeping from her skin into her grey underwear. He pulled the knife softly towards her, cutting swiftly into the soles of her feet. The pain was excruciating and she could feel a lot of blood seeping from the wounds. She groaned through her gritted teeth as a river of tears poured down her face.  
“Yes, the bottom of the foot is a sensitive area, isn’t it? Lots of blood flow. Lots of nerve endings. Of course, as a doctor, you know all of the sensitive areas. Shall I slice over the ribs next?”  
  
Delphine glared at him, before smiling knowingly. She was a stubborn woman. Awful as her situation was, it would take a lot more than some cuts to the feet to give him anything that he could use. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.  
  
“You won’t ever be able to use the virus; I made sure of that. You think that you can control everything. Non, you have failed this time.”  


He sliced over her ribcage with another serrated knife, the points grinding into her bones.   
_Merde! This hurts…keep it together. Breathe. Breathe._

Blood had started to seep down her chest, soaking her briefs.

She craned her head to see that Marion had left at this point, clearly not having the same stomach for torture as Leekie. She was glad. In a way, the person who watched was worse, like a voyeur who didn’t care to help the victim at all.   
Leekie carried on slicing at her for a few more attempts, becoming increasingly enraged at her reticence to talk and Delphine had a phrase stuck in her mind:  
Death by a thousand cuts.  


Where had she heard that? It was very fitting for this situation. She knew that she was becoming quite hysterical at this point; her adrenaline was fading and her cortisol levels were through the roof. While the cuts were superficial, the combined blood loss and whatever they had given her was making her rather woozy.

Leekie turned to face her.

  
“So, you have a high pain tolerance it seems. I’ll have to try something else.” He had on his most sinister smile, like he was possessed by the devil himself. He placed the knife back in its sheath and stepped even closer to her than he had before.  
Delphine swallowed. Because she knew what he was going to do. He stroked her clavicle softly with his rough hands, trailing down towards her breasts and then he was touching her and she closed her eyes and started to sob at the hopelessness; the indignity of it all. He was undeterred by this and carried on, his hands wandering down her abdomen until-  


“You take your hands off her this instant.”

_Cosima!_  
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Cosima stood in the open doorway brandishing a large rifle. She was decked out in full republic armour along with her counterpart, a tall woman dressed in Havoc squad gear who was aiming an assault cannon threateningly at someone near the other side of the door and a woman wearing Jedi robes, brandishing a violet coloured lightsabre. Cosima had lifted the visor of her helmet, presumably so Delphine could see her face. Leekie stepped back and Delphine exhaled gratefully. He made to cower against the wall and Cosima hit him with the butt of her rifle where he crumpled to the floor.

  
“Cosima.” Delphine didn’t know what to say. She was so glad to see her, she had no words. She also felt uncomfortably exposed in front of all of these people, made very aware of the fact that she was wearing nothing but underwear.  
  
“Man, are you a sight for sore eyes.” Cosima dropped her rifle and made to undo Delphine’s steel bindings. Her body was limp and she was in danger of falling to floor but Cosima caught her just in time and she leaned against her grasp and the red walls.  
  
She pulled back and initiated a chaste kiss, soft and desperate, but not passionate. Cosima understood and responded gently. She smiled and pressed their foreheads together. It was a promise of things to come. She clung to her for dear life and let Cosima half-walk and half-carry her to the door.  


Without warning, a small canister was launched into the centre of the room, which began to fill with thick white smoke. It was a very old school tactic; using tear gas. But effective. Delphine saw a small ventilation shaft in the corner of the room and dived towards it. But she wasn't able to pull Cosima there in time, and she felt her let go of her hand and start to cough. Delphine pressed her face to the shaft, inhaling the freshly circulated air as the smoke dispersed. She turned her head to a horrible sight. Leekie stood, unharmed by the gas due to his implants. He stood above Cosima holding a lightsabre that he had taken from the Jedi woman with the frizzy blonde hair who lay on the floor and coughed. Delphine could feel the anger building up inside her like fire. This time she would not need to recite the Sith code. Her love - _love?_ \- for Cosima would be enough. She could feel her eyes flash red as she raised her hand towards him and squeezed her fingers until his throat began to constrict and he was lifted a few inches off the ground.  
  
“You will not touch her! You will never touch anyone ever again without their consent.”  


She squeezed more and more, her nails forming bloody half moons on the inside of her palms. He was turning blue now, and making these awful gargling noises that only seemed to fuel her more, until she heard a voice.  
“Delphine. You have to stop now. I know you. I know that you don't want to kill him. The Delphine I know wouldn't want to be a murderer.”  
  
“The Delphine you know is a lie, Cosima. I was Sith. I am a Sith. I used to hurt people.”  
  
“She's no lie. She exists in here.” Cosima stroked her head and over her chest at her head. She stood in front of Delphine. And for a second it was quiet and it was as if time had stopped and they were the only two people in all of the known worlds.  
Delphine looked into Cosima's beautiful brown eyes. They were not hard or judgemental. They were soft and kind and sparkling, just like Cosima herself. She waved her wrist and heard Leekie fall to the floor, clutching his throat.  
“Yeah, I thought so. What do you say we get out of this dump?”  
  
“First you must listen to me,” Delphine stared at her with a scorching intensity. Her eyes flashed red briefly.  
  
“We have to burn it. We must burn it all down.”  


Delphine strode to the lab, calmly, as if she was possessed. Cosima had to admit that she was a little scared of her, but she had to trust her. After all, she was the same person she had always been. It was cold in the basement and Delphine's hair stood on end as she was still only wearing underwear, her bare and bloody feet sticking to the floor, leaving crimson footprints in her wake. She couldn't feel the pain, the Force flowed through her, filling every cell with the need to destroy. The only thing that tempered her rage was the tiny woman who trailed behind her, thick and heavy armoured boots which reverberated around the room, clangs echoing with every step, a perfect contrast to the wet slap of her bare soles on the floor. She smirked at the lack of Imperial soldiers and guards; for such an important place, the security was lacking. Probably because no-one had ever had the guts to attack it before.

The hydraulic door opened when she stared at it, eyes blazing. The electric bulbs in the lights flickered and then smashed as she entered, along with various glassware that couldn't take the stress that her presence had induced. Behind her Cosima yelped and shielded her face.

Delphine only wished that she still had her lightsabre, and she hoped that it was safe in her storage locker on Coruscant. She walked to the hatches on the far side and pulled out all the all the canisters of petrol and isopropyl alcohol which she and Cosima sloshed liberally across the floors and surfaces on the basement level including the other labs, before they took the lift and did so with many of the upstairs floors.

They could see that their earlier diversion to help them escape had resulted in a very limited explosion, and Delphine smiled at their teamwork.

Cosima shot at the various Imperials they came across with her rifle and Delphine Force pushed them into walls and collapsed shelves on them. They ran out of the building, Delphine's feet still slipping slightly on the blood, as she started to feel rather heady from the large amount of blood loss.

They met the others at the door, everyone looking rather ragged and Siobhan looking royally pissed. Delphine suddenly realised that they had no ignition source, when she heard a voice behind her.  
“Don't worry, I've got your back. Sometimes it pays to know a smoker” Cosima grinned and pulled out a small lighter that she flicked into one of the almost empty canisters that she kicked through the door. Upon seeing the flames, Delphine started to feel faint once again, her adrenaline fading as she realised that she had done what was necessary. Luckily, Siobhan grabbed her before she hit the floor.  
  
“I've got you, love. You did well.” As Delphine succumbed to blackness the the headquarters of Imperial Intelligence burned in front of them as they hoisted themselves and her limp body into a shuttle bound for the Starport, so they could get off of Dromund Kaas before news traveled of what they had done and security was tightened to stop them from leaving.  



	11. Truths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has been a long time coming, and is very dialogue heavy. But secrets are shared and this is quite an important chapter, despite the lack of action.  
> I hope you enjoy it. If you leave a kudos or a comment that would make me very happy.  
> -FunkyPangolin

  
The ride back to Coruscant was long.  
Cosima, aided by Sarah and Siobhan, stitched up Delphine’s wounds and stapled them with dissolving staples. After that she spent about an hour under anaesthesia in the ship's kolto tank. She felt refreshed and revitalised. She changed into some clothes and was surprised to see that aboard the ship, were some of her old clothes. She would thank Felix for the gesture later. She pulled on a cosy white Nerf wool jumper and some black wraidskin leggings. They hung loosely off her frame as she had lost weight since she she last wore them. Her face felt uncomfortably pinched and there were dark circles under her eyes.

Something was still missing, as she splashed some rejuvenating cream onto her face. Delphine realised that there had now come a time in her life where she needed something different. She needed to forget.  
She found a vibroknife in one of the medbay drawers and pulled her long hair into a ponytail, which she cut off at the nape of her neck. It fell to the floor and the mousedroid swept it into the garbage chute. She felt lighter now.  
She went to find Cosima, who had left her alone earlier at her request.  
The ship was rather large and she wandered into the wrong room, where the mysterious Jedi with the frizzy hair from earlier was sitting, levitating small holocrons in the air.  
  
“I like your hairs, sestra-kisser. Yellow like mine. I am Helena, Cosima's sestra.”  
  
“Sestra?...Ah, you are her sister?!” Delphine wasn't quite sure how to behave around her, shocked by this new information. She could see the resemblance now, even though Helena was much paler, with red rimmed eyes.  
  
“You are lost.” It wasn't a question.  
  
“Yes. I'm trying to find Cosima.”  
  
“Leave here and go right, through large room with the machines which spin, spin, spin” Helena's fingers waggled and the holocrons span in the air as she spoke.  
  
Delphine made to leave as Helena spoke again.  
  
“I was like you before. Much anger and hate. I was Sith too, before I met my sestras.”  
  
“I'm not Sith” Delphine insisted although she wasn't entirely sure who she was trying to convince.  
  
“But you are angry.” Helena remarked.  
  
“Yes.” She sighed finally.  
  
“Sometimes it is good to be angry. Jedi do not know this. But do not let anger take over head. It does not end well. Goodbye Goldenhairs.” She flashed her a toothy grin, which was similar to Cosima's but unsettled Delphine somehow. Perhaps it was because Helena had hit upon an uncomfortable topic that Delphine would rather not talk about.

She walked through the engine room, with Helena's spinning machines. Cosima was sitting on one of the bunks in the room next door. Her hair was in strange braids that Delphine had only seen people with twice before. She had a silver ring in her nose as well. It suited her, Delphine decided with a small smile.  
She was smoking something. Hardly anyone smoked in the civilised parts of the galaxy. Delphine had smoked when she was younger on Naboo. But this was a very different type of cigarette, with a distinctly earthy smell.  
“It's called pot. It relaxes me.” Delphine was not aware that Cosima knew she had been watching her.  
  
“Maybe I should try some” Delphine remarked jokingly.  


Cosima held out the small cigarette.  
Delphine sat down on the bunk and took it.  
  
“Your hair...I like it.”  
  
“Really?” Delphine was unsure.  
  
“Sometimes you need a change. Like my dreads” At Delphine’s quizzical look, Cosima motioned to her braids, which where not actually braids, now that Delphine saw them close up.  
  
She put the “pot” to her mouth and inhaled deeply. She found that she coughed and sputtered and suddenly her brain felt very cloudy. Somehow it was nice.  
  
“Wow, you might want to slow down there, Cheech.” Cosima's eyes widened.  
“Cheech?” Delphine queried.  
  
“Never mind, old world reference.” Cosima laughed.  
  
“Mm. I just want to forget.” She admitted.  
  
“I get it. Scoot up.” Cosima patted the empty space next to her.  
  
Delphine moved closer to Cosima, interlinking their hands. She became aware that her collarbone was wet. She touched her face and realised that she was crying.  


Cosima pressed their foreheads together like she had done earlier and Delphine suddenly threw her arms around her and sobbed into her neck. Cosima's hands stroked over her upper back and hair. It was so wonderfully reassuring. Despite what she had thought about in the safe-house, she couldn't break up with her. She was going to be selfish.  
“Stay with me?” Delphine asked.  
  
“Of course. I'm not going anywhere.” They both knew she meant it.  


A long and comfortable silence passed between them, until Cosima joked:  
“Dude, you're such a depressing stoner.”  
  
“Brat.” But Delphine smiled and put her head on Cosima's shoulder.  
  
“So, uh, I don't want to pressure you or anything but...”  
  
“You want to know what happened in there.” Delphine sighed.  
  
“I mean we don't have to talk about it, but, for me talking does help.” Cosima looked at her pensively.  
  
“D'accord. But if I say it, I have to say it all at once, because I don't think I will be brave enough to finish otherwise.” She admitted.  
  
“I won't interrupt.”Cosima promised. “After that, there's something I have to tell you as well.”  
  
“OK. I am from Naboo. About twenty years ago, Naboo was invaded by the Empire. We were finally restored to the Republic three years ago. I was six when they came. Initially it didn't affect us. We lived in a small farming community and we carried on just as we had always done, except now the town guards wore black armour instead of white. My brother, Laurent, was ten when the Imperials came to our house and tested his midichlorian levels. I was sick then, almost dying of some childhood flu, so they didn't test mine. He was taken away to the Sith Academy that occupied the old Jedi Temple. He was talented, they said. His midichlorian level was high and he became a Sith apprentice. My father said that he would not allow me to go, and that I would have to hide my powers from the Imperials. He told me to pretend like I was dumb and they would leave me alone. It worked and I was never tested. My brother used to write for the first year, and then he stopped. He changed; how could he not? For seven years, we heard nothing, until one day he showed up at the door and my mother answered it. I was in the living room, on my fifteenth birthday. We had been celebrating and my father was just about to cut the cake.” She smiled sadly.  
  
“My brother cut down my mother as she answered the door. He was not a boy any more, he was not even a man. He was a monster with a red lightsabre and my father leapt up at the commotion. He saw my mother's body next to my brother in the hallway and all he said was 'Why?'. I remember what Laurent said, clear as day. He said 'Because you weren't there.' He was so bitter; he blamed us for what he had become.  
He tried to kill my father next because it was his last trial before he became a Sith Lord. He had to kill his family. But I was there, standing in front of my father. I don't know what happened exactly, only that the roof fell on top of him. I did that. He died. My own brother died because of me. Somehow the Sith found out and I became an apprentice too. They said that technically I was too old, but I had power that far surpassed that of my brother and so I could become one of the most powerful Sith ever to have lived. I didn't want it. I didn't want any of it. I did awful things for a while until I just couldn't stand it anymore. I ran away one day, I used really strong force persuasion on my teachers and on the starport security staff. I stowed away on a cruiser to Nar Shadaa. I needed a new name and new identification. I had various ways of persuasion, including my body, to get what I wanted, when Force persuasion didn't do the trick. I am not proud of what I did, but it worked.”  


At this point Cosima was itching to reassure her, but remembered her earlier promise.  
“It got me into a top school on Coruscant where they said I had a natural aptitude for the sciences. I became Dr Delphine Cormier, esteemed Republic scientist, where I had previously been Delphine Beraud, farm hand and one time Sith. I eventually started to work very closely with the Republic SIS on Taris to develop a Rakghoul vaccine, which is where I met Siobhan and Felix. They were very good to me, at a difficult time.”  


Cosima didn't speak, she just nodded, taking in the new and somewhat troubling information. Then slowly she turned and smiled, a sincere thousand gigawatt grin plastered on her face before saying:  
“I'm sorry. I'm sorry not because I did anything, but because you are a beautiful person and you deserved absolutely none of that. I'm sorry that your life has been so hard, because it isn't fair, and you know what? I want to show you what happiness feels like. Maybe I can't, but I am sure as hell gonna try, because you are awesome and sexy and fucking badass, and even if you can't see it, I do. I see you, Delphine, even the parts that you don't love. Because I love you. It has taken me a while to say it, but I do.”  
  
“J'taime aussi Cosima. You are so good to me.”  
  
“Ditto, obvs.”  
  
“What was it you wanted to say?” Delphine remembered.  
  
“Well, there are two parts to this. First off, you know when I said that I was a quintuplet? Well, I may have bent the truth there a little bit. Technically, I am a part of the secret, now defunct Imperial cloning project called Project Leda. You've met Sarah and Helena already, but you have yet to meet Krystal, and Alison, whom we only discovered recently when she became head of the SIS.”  


Delphine’s eyes widened.  
_A clone?_  
“Secondly, there's a disease that all the clones can get, apart from Sarah and Helena. It's a nasty degenerative respiratory condition that begins in the uterus and causes polyps to eventually spread to the lungs and the sufferer starts to die. I have... I had this disease and I did almost die. But I managed to cure it in time. So, I was kinda lost for a long time afterwards, and I still am, a little bit. It throws you, being that close to death in your twenties.”  
  
“I can't even imagine what that must have been like for you...I'm sorry too.” Delphine admitted.  
  
“Yeah, it was pretty shit. But somehow, if it lead to this moment, to me finding you, I don't think I would have changed it for all the worlds.”  



	12. Ships in the night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry about how long it has been since I last posted. In my defence this is my twelfth day in a row of work, so not a lot of free time to be had here.  
> I hope you enjoy it. The end is NSFW ;)  
> -F.P.
> 
> P.S. I know I've spelt facade wrong but it wouldn't let me do the little curl on the C.

  
Delphine couldn't sleep.  
She would have liked to share the bottom bunk with Cosima but she had to admit that was quite a stretch for her long frame and she had instead stared at the steel ceiling from the top bunk and shuffled restlessly while listening to Cosima's steady, even breaths below her; clearly deep in her slumber.

She decided that enough was enough and jumped down quietly, not needing to use the ladder as she was tall enough to slide down. She winced at the cold metal grooved floor on her cut feet, even as they were mostly healed after her hour in the kolto tank. She pulled on some nerf wool socks and padded through the ship, being careful not to wake anyone that might be sleeping. Even though there was no way to keep track of time; it being a mostly arbitrary concept due to the lack of sunlight, people still needed to sleep.

She eventually wandered into the kitchen where she meant to make some kind of hot beverage. She poured some synthetic chocolate powder into a cup and was about to press some kind of nozzle in the wall which hopefully held some hot water when she sensed a presence. Siobhan was reclining in one of the kitchen chairs, nursing her own cup as her pupils glimmered in the darkness, watching Delphine silently.  
“Sorry chicken, I didn't mean to scare you. Couldn't sleep either?” She sighed, motioning at the opposite chair for Delphine to join her.  
  
“Non. It's just...too much.” She struggled to express how she was feeling.  
  
“I understand. You've been through a lot recently. I have to admit, I was always hoping that you hadn't died. Even if you had defected, I would have forgiven you if it meant you were still alive. Maybe.” She was such a tall, large woman in her armour, and here she was, wearing only a black bodysuit, looking as vulnerable as Delphine had ever seen her.  
  
“That's a big promise.” Delphine raised her eyebrows.  
  
“Yes it is. I know I'm not your mother, Delphine, not like I am Felix's or Sarah's; you've always made your own way. You've had to bear a lot alone, you're not like them, you're tough in a very different way, the strong, silent type I suppose...but I'm your corner anyway. If you need me to be.” She smiled and the wrinkles around her harsh flinty eyes grew more pronounced and her irises twinkled with a unique brand of kindness that only she had.  
“I think...that would be nice.” In that instant Delphine felt something peculiar, something unfamiliar.

Something that felt like home.  
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

They finished their drinks in silence, contentedly staring off into space. Both were women of few words and Siobhan had definitely said everything she meant to say. Nevertheless, Delphine could see that she was lost in thought as she looked across the table and set down her mug.  
Sarah walked in some time later. She had never met the clone in person, even as she remembers taking care of her daughter Kira a couple of times about a year ago.  
Her resemblance to Cosima was striking, although there was a perpetual fury to her movements that Cosima didn't possess, as she practically slammed down her bowl, whilst hunting carelessly for cutlery sending a few forks askew over the edge of the drawer that she slammed down with considerable force when it yielded its treasure of a spoon to her clenched fist.  
“Bloody hell, you two are drab; you'd think someone kicked the bucket in 'ere.” She remarked as she sat down.  
  
“This is Sarah, my sunbeam of a daughter. I don´t think you've formally met before.”  
  
“Alright? I can see why Cos is always bangin' on about you.” She smirked.  
  
“Sarah.” Siobhan's tone held a gentle warning.  
  
“What? It's a bloody compliment.” She rolled her eyes petulantly.  


An awkward silence ensued, which Siobhan broke by rising from her seat and clearing her throat.  
“Anyway, both of you, if that clock is right we'll be there soon, so maybe you could make yourselves useful and wake the other sleepyheads, when you're finished.” She insta-steamed her mug and placed it on a cooling rack before leaving them alone.  
Thankfully Sarah just chewed, deep in thought in a way that reminded her greatly of Cosima (except Cosima frowned less), not attempting to initiate any more conversation.

Eventually, Delphine followed Siobhan's example in standing up and steaming her mug, and left the kitchen to wake Cosima.  
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Cosima was still under the quilt. Delphine wouldn't have even realised that she was there if not for the slight rise and fall of the white ball in the middle of the bed, and when she pulled the quilt back slightly she couldn't help but smile at how Cosima slept like a cat, with all of her limbs tucked into a ball, dreadlocks draped over her back and torso like a rug.  
  
“Mmmmfhhh. Why did you wake me? I was having such a good dream.” She groaned blearily.  


Delphine's grin grew wider and she slid up to Cosima, smiling impishly before whispering huskily:  
“Was I in this dream, pray tell?”  
  
Cosima opened her eyes and gulped. There was something almost predatory about the way Delphine had snaked her arms across her torso and was now stroking her back.  
  
“Damn, I don't remember it being this good. Are you sure about this?”  
  
Delphine nodded. “Only if you are, ma cherie.”  
  
“ Of course. We'll have to be quiet, loose lips sink ships and all that.” She chuckled at her malapropism.  
  
“I think you should be more concerned with the other parts of your body that I'm about to loosen, mon amour.” Delphine rasped, her hands moving dangerously close to Cosima's breasts as Cosima groaned quietly, caught off guard. She pulled off her tunic and it fell to the floor in a heap before she made to remove Cosima's tank top.  
  
“Fuck me, I never suspected that under that doctorly facade, you could be quite so crass, Dr Cormier.” She shot back, reaching for her glasses before twisting around so that she could look Delphine in the eyes. Her fingers lightly ran through Delphine's short curls before she pressed their lips together.  
  
“What can I say, I have a lot of hidden talents.” Delphine giggled in between breathy kisses.  


The moment was interrupted by a loud bark of a laugh.  
“Oi, lovebirds, we're almost there. Put some clothes on, will ya?” Sarah appeared in the doorway with a shit-eating grin plastered across her face.  
  
Delphine blushed furiously and pulled the quilt over them while Cosima burst out laughing after telling Sarah to fuck off.  
  
“Damn, sorry about that, my sister is such a boner killer.”  
  
Delphine huffed before rolling out from the bed and pulling on her hastily discarded tunic.  
  
“We'll have to resume this at another time.” She stated intensely.  
  
“Obvs”. Cosima was still laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation as she replied.  



	13. The Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I'm very sorry that it has been about a month since the last update. This pesky thing called life has been getting in the way, plus the fact that I am actually moving back to my home country (Iceland) in two weeks. I am not entirely happy with this chapter; some of the dialogue bothers me a little, but I just had to post something now. I estimate that there will 3-4 more chapters.
> 
> Enjoy,  
> F.P.
> 
> P.S there is a hidden reference. A virtual cookie goes to whoever finds it.

  
Three days later:

“It is the privilege of The Supreme Galactic Republic to bestow upon one of its esteemed heroines , the Republic's highest honour for unwavering selflessness and great sacrifice towards the people of Coruscant and the Republic-aligned worlds. Dr. Delphine Cormier, has shown exceptional heroism even whilst under great duress. Tonight, we will celebrate her bravery and the bravery of Dr Cosima Niehaus, Commander Sadler, Master Helena, Captain Manning and Agent Dawkins. We bestow upon them the Republic Medal of Valour, our highest honour.”  
Supreme Chancellor A'ahktara, an older twi'lek with red skin and striped Lek'ku placed the medal on each of them in turn, as they stood in the Senate hall, surrounded by a crowd of onlookers who applauded them.

They were all dressed impeccably for the ceremony, S and Sarah looking quite odd without their armour, Cosima with her dreads tied into a fancy updo, in a maroon tunic with silver plated shoulders, Helena wearing white and gold ceremonial robes, her frizzy mane having been tamed into something that actually resembled normal human hair instead of Wookie fur, Felix wearing a deep emerald tunic over bantha leather leggings and Delphine having straightened her golden hair and wearing a form-fitting white tunic with black embroidery, over red nano-silk leggings.

Cosima caught her eye from across the podium and winked lewdly, licking her lips.  
Delphine mock glared at her. Brat, she mouthed at Cosima so that no-one could see. She smirked in return.

After this, they were going away to Sarah and Cal's summer cabin in Rishi, Alison having relented and loaned them her space ship, a modest cruiser. When that was over they would return to their respective jobs together in the laboratory in downtown Coruscant. Delphine had been overjoyed to learn that they would be working together, although she had grudgingly made Cosima agree that there would be no sex in the lab. This was, of course, a promise that they were both unlikely to keep, but Delphine at least liked to pretend that she was the mature one in the relationship.

But first Delphine had something she needed to do.

After the ceremony she placed her medal in Cosima's hand who was talking to Sarah about something.  
“There's something I have to do...Meet you back here in an hour?”  
  
Cosima looked a little surprised but nodded and grinned at her.  
  
“Sure. See you in a bit.”  


Delphine took a taxi to the Corellian sector, changing into a brown and grey tunic, similar to the ones worn by street rats on Coruscant. After all, she had once been one of those street rats for a while.

She charmed the gangsters that she couldn't avoid until she made it to The Vault, a storage company that hid all manner of sins in its back rooms. It was here that she had stored her lightsabre because the company had certainly been discreet and the security was one of the best on Coruscant. Rumour had it that they had even stored some things for the late Nok Drayen.  
It had also certainly helped that the boss had a weak spot for blondes. She shuddered at the memory, even though it was long in the past now.  
She force persuaded the guards to let her in, because she was a little short on cash at the moment.  


She saw a greyish-green plasteel crate labelled “D.B.”.  
She pressed her index fingers firmly on both of the sensors and a series of clicks could be heard, before the lid sprang open with a hiss.  
  
In the crate were some neatly folded Sith robes, black with a white trim in the pattern of abstract lightning bolts and a lightsabre pressed into an indent inside the lid. She pulled it out, immediately feeling a curious warmth as her hands returned to clasp it as they had always done and pressed the button.  
  
She had expected to feel the remnants of rage from her Sith days as the golden plasma blade appeared, as she knew that powerful feelings could bind to objects and artifacts. But she felt nothing but peace, seeing the warm colour after all those years. She closed her eyes, becoming one with the Force.  
She could sense someone else in the room behind her and she span around, raising the sabre and thrusting it out towards the neck of-  
“Helena? You followed me.” Delphine accused.  
  
“It was necessary.” She replied cryptically, her hands making no motions for her own violet lightsabre as Delphine lowered and sheathed her own.  
  
“Why? Did you want to see if I would take this lightsabre and start killing everyone with it?!” Delphine was becoming angry.  
  
“I wanted to see...but you are different.” She paused.  
  
“You mean that I'm not the same person I was before.” Delphine filled in the blanks.  
  
“Just so, Goldenhairs. Tell me,” She added curiously “what do you think of lightsabre colour?”  
  
“Quoi? You mean the colour of my lightsabre? It has always been gold. It was when I made it.”  
  
“This is your first lightsabre, no? You used a blank crystal.”  
  
“Yes. My master, he seemed disappointed with the colour at first” She remembered, pondering Helena's questions.  
  
“Is because blank crystals show how you are attuned to Force.” Helena stated, in her familiar deadpan manner.  
  
“Really? Almost everyone had red except for one girl with a purple lightsabre. She defected to the Jedi.” Delphine recalled.  
  
“You have gold, like one of Jedi Masters at Temple.” Helena pondered.  
  
“So, what does that mean?” Delphine had to know.  
  
“Is one of rarest colours. Means that you can be fierce and quick to anger, but you have warm heart...You were never bad, sestra-kisser, just lost.” She grinned, an impossibly toothy smile, that almost reminded her of Cosima.

At this Delphine smiled too.It was something she had longed to hear for so long. She just wanted to know that she could be different, that in spite of what she had ended up doing to Leekie and all the people inside the Ministry for Imperial intelligence and her brother, that she had changed. She hugged Helena fiercely despite her surprise and muffled protests, this Jedi who was so similar and so different to her Cosima in ways that she could never comprehend, who had told her exactly she needed to hear.

  
Delphine placed the lightsabre carefully in the inside pocket of her tunic, closing the lid on her robes.  
  
“What about clothes?” Helena asked.  
  
“Leave them. It's time for a new beginning.”  


And for the first time in a long time, she was truly hopeful.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone, I am so sorry for the wait. It's done now. I hope you like it, if anyone is waiting for this update. It has been my mission this month to finally finish this fic, because I kept everyone waiting waaaaaay too long. Also the Married at First Sight will be finished soon.
> 
> Thank you, much love,  
> F.P.

Rishi turned out to be as much of a paradise as everyone had claimed. Cosima, while not a gifted pilot (as Delphine had stated many times during their journey, much to Cosima's chagrin), had managed to get them to the landing bay in one piece, and they touched down onto the ground with a hiss and a soft thump, the extending feet of the cruiser absorbing the impact cleanly.  
  
The first thing they both noticed was the heat. The last time Delphine had tasted such a heat was on Korriban, but in a way, this was worse. The humidity here seemed to seep into every pore and Delphine could already feel her shirt sticking to her. She ran her hands through her hair, putting some air into it before linking her hand with Cosima's. Cosima looked much more uncomfortable than she did, never having experienced a climate like this. After all, Coruscant was never sweltering, only temperate, and the temperatures on Dromund Kaas were eased by the constant rainfall.  
  
They pulled their landing authorisation passes from Cosima's shoulder pouch and scanned them at the holoterminal, where they were greeted by a rather irritable Zabrak, with black face tattoos. He nevertheless promised to take care of and refuel their ship after they made it clear that it was the property of the Republic SIS.  
  
The heat became more bearable as they stepped outside, the breeze from the sea making it almost pleasant.  
  
They shared a water taxi to the small islet just off the coast where Sarah and Cal’s abode was located. It turned out to be a rather charming and rustic beach house constructed of wood from the palm trees surrounding it. A rickety porch swing and a well-loved rocking varactyl decorated the shaded porch. Cosima located the keys in her bag and turned the old-fashioned bronze one in the lock until the door creaked open.  
  
They drank in their surroundings. The kitchen and living space were one big room, the kitchen consisting of a modern cryosteel fridge unit hidden inside a wooden plank drawer along with a coffee machine, instasteamer, and portacook oven unit. Wooden utensils decorated the walls, along with mandalorian tapestries, the furs of exotic beasts and drawings done by Kira. The windows were shuttered with wicker shades and in the middle of the room there was a charming mismatch of cushions and loveseats surrounding an open firepit below a small chimney in the roof. Delphine and Cosima couldn’t help but grin at each other, pleased with the way their holiday was turning out so far.  
  
Cosima opened the door into the master bedroom while Delphine, being the stronger of them both, hauled their bags inside and dumped them by the door. Delphine arrived back at the house to find Cosima stretched out like a starfish on the large and rickety double bed.  
  
“You can’t use the bed without me, ma cherie!” She admonished her lover, before laying on top of her.  
  
“Delphiiiine! You’re too heavy for that!”  
  
“Are you calling me fat, Cosima?” Delphine mock-gasped at her.  
  
“You’re large, but not in that direction.” Cosima huffed good-naturedly as Delphine rolled off her and onto her back.  
  
“Maybe you’re just small. The fact remains-“Delphine assured.  
  
“-You’re a total top…yeah we know” Cosima cut her off with a cheeky wink.  
  
“I am not!” Delphine insisted.  
  
“Why don’t we find out tonight?” Cosima posited.  
  
“I am not, what is the saying, completely averse to that idea” The blonde admitted.  
  
(She very much was not, however the chandelier was, and the bed, both of which Delphine managed to break with her force powers during their numerous orgasms).  
  
Afterwards they fell asleep from the jet lag, not waking until sunset, when they cooked up a hearty bantha stew that they ate by the firepit on the beach, listening to the local Galactocrickets hum in concerto through the evening. They retreated inside to sleep again when it began to rain heavily, and Cosima placed buckets under tiny holes in the thatch ceiling. It all felt so ridiculously primitive, but they both enjoyed it very much; the simplicity of life on the planet.  
  
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// The next day, they awoke to the morning sun streaking in, casting golden shapes over them, the sea making soft sounds a few metres away. Delphine emerged from the bed first, having always been a morning person, while Cosima was not. Eventually Cosima emerged from the bed, as Delphine was making breakfast and they ate together in a comfortable silence.  
  
“So what are we going to do today, ma cherie?” Delphine asked brightly.  
  
“I wanted to explore the beach. I wanted to take some samples for when we get back home.” Cosima grinned.  
  
“Ok, how about I meet you there in a little while? I wanted to buy some things from the market for tonight. I won’t be long.”  
  
“You got it.” They kissed gently, savouring the sweet fruit taste of each other’s lips after a rather tropical breakfast.  
  
They went their separate ways, and Cosima walked to the west side of the beach where she had seen some interesting corals close to the shore. She took off her shoes and let the warm sand get inbetween her toes as she savoured the heat of the morning. She had taken a few test tubes and sample pods with her and she got to work.  
  
After a little while she felt a presence behind her and looked behind her, expecting to see Delphine smiling at her.  
  
It was not Delphine, but a rather large Chiss who hit her heavily on the head. She slumped heavily, face hitting the sand, as the world swam out of view.  
  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// When she came to she saw a face almost identical to hers, with some minor cosmetic differences (and one less eye) staring gleefully down at her, as if she was going to devour her. “So it seems I have another clone, and she’s a crazy one eyed pirate, talk about a cliché.” Cosima realised that antagonising her captor was probably not the best course of action, but she just couldn’t stop herself.  
  
“Shut up! You would do well to remember your betters! I was first Lieutenant and Head Cipher of the Ministry of Imperial Intelligence ” The other clone barked at her.  
  
“You think that you’re my better just because you were some kind of imperial commander a million years ago, dream on, Lady One-eye. It doesn’t matter anyway because my hot-as-fuck Sith girlfriend will be here to save me soon.” Cosima thrived off the bravado, and it made her feel much less helpless than she knew she really was.  
  
“My name is Captain Rachel Duncan and I will not be treated with such disrespect. I don’t much care about whoever you think is coming to save you, I only care about handing you over to the empire where I’ll be rewarded handsomely for finding more clones! I only want to go back!”  
  
“I don’t understand, you want to go back to the Empire? Why?” Cosima decided that she could likely buy some time if she got the woman talking.  
  
“Because I lost everything…”  
  
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// “Cosima? Cosima, where are you?” Delphine was starting to get a little worried then, she had not seen Cosima in over an hour, having combed the whole beach looking for her, so she decided to ask around the marketplace.  
  
A friendly native selling beautiful textiles had said that he had seen a woman with the “most curious braids” get knocked out on the beach and slung over the shoulder of a pirate belonging to a local gang called Neolution, run by a one-eyed woman called Captain Duncan. She thanked him and started off back to the house, before a dilapidated speeder at another stall caught her eye. She bought it feverishly from the local vendor and sped off past him back to the house; he had been shocked that she hadn’t even wanted to haggle.  
  
Delphine was panicking but luckily she knew exactly where to find her love. She was glad that she had packed her lightsabre, and that Sarah had left some old Plastiplate armor in a chest under the bed. It was a little short on her, but covered most of her vital areas just fine, even as it was a little heavier than the clothes she usually wore. She clipped the lightsabre to her belt and rushed off again. It sputtered a little bit but eventually ended up being a surprisingly smooth ride.  
  
Captain Duncan’s Neolution hideout was apparently to the west, beyond the small hills that sheltered their less than savoury exploits (Slavery, apparently) and the local people knew to avoid that area. They had thought her crazy for asking where Duncan was, and maybe she was, but she knew she had to save Cosima. After about an hour and some tussling with the unfriendly local wildlife, Delphine was sweating profusely, but she saw something that gave her pause.  
  
Guards wearing some kind of bastardised Imperial insignias were up ahead. She had found the place. She parked the hoverbike behind a large patch of foliage and wiped her forehead with a broad flat leaf she plucked from a bush. She gave herself a mental peptalk and then pulled the visor of her (Or rather Sarah’s) helmet, and smiled at the pleasant hum of her golden lightsabre. The guards looked at one another before she approached, and they looked very afraid, she was pleased to note.  
  
“Uhhh who’re you? I’m not supposed to let anyone in. Captain Duncan’s orders, you see.” The thug that spoke shifted nervously on his feet as she approached until their chins were almost touching.  
  
“You will go and get Captain Duncan for me” She waved her outstretched glowing palm in front of his face.  
  
“I will go and get Captain Duncan for you.” Sufficiently force-persuaded, he walked away. The others drew their weapons and she smacked them in quick succession on their temples with the butt of her lightsabre. They dropped to the ground instantly like sacks of Rishi palm nuts.  
  
Delphine continued through the ramshackle mess of a camp, until she came to a series of large ramps which lead to the top of a hill where she could just about see, a small woman clenching the bicep of a woman with familiar dreadlocks.  
  
Cosima!   
  
She had no time to waste and so she closed her eyes, summoning the force that thrummed beneath her skin and vaulted thirty feet in the air, easily reaching the two women.   
  
“Cosima are you alright, ma cherie?” Cosima nodded hurriedly from where she was pulled up against Captain Duncan.   
  
The Pirate finally spoke. “That was rather impressive, I gather you’re the Sith girlfriend then, and I gather that I have something that belongs to you. No matter, you can leave now. A few acrobatics are not going to save this clone. You should know, that they are all just pale imitations of me. I am the original, the one who gave this rebel refuse life.”   
  
Captain Duncan turned her head slightly and it was easy to see the similarity between them. Duncan, however had an extremely severe blonde bob and sported a rather interesting patchwork cybernetic eye. Delphine was reminded a little of Leekie and felt the anger inside her grow stronger.   
  
“She does not belong to me. Cosima is her own person, a person I am very fond of, and I demand that you let her go this instant! If I have to fight you I will, and it is not a fight you will win, putain!” At this Rachel chuckled darkly and lifted her heavy blaster to point at Cosima’s temple who struggled against her grip.   
  
“So they cast you away too? The Empire takes and takes and leaves those it does not deem to be worthy! They cast me away, after the clones became too troublesome! After we all started to die! Tell me you see the blood that streams from my nose even now! But it matters not! I have it all, and they don’t have the pleasure of my company, so who is the real winner here?!”   
  
And then dear sweet Cosima finally piped up.   
  
“We have a cure, Rachel, I made a cure, and if you would stop this, I would give it to you!”   
  
That was when it all went to hell. Rachel became incensed by this and began to ramble monstrously and adjusted her blaster more towards Cosima and took the safety off. Delphine was sure that if Rachel could spit fire, then she would be doing it then. Delphine had no choice but to act. She phased in front of Rachel in a flash and struck her down. It was not hate that drove her to take a life then. Not like before. It was love now. She was glad for the difference.   
  
She ran up to Cosima and stroked her cheek softly with her gloved hand and pulled her in for a soft and passionate kiss.   
  
“Are you really OK, mon cœur?”   
  
“Yeah…No. I was actually scared. You took forever to get here, and she was…I don’t even know what she was.”  
  
They both turned their heads to the body beside them a little sadly.  
  
“Come, we must go, before her guards show up.”   
  
She gave Cosima a little peck on the forehead and lifted her up, holding her tightly, before leaping down onto the ground, pleased at the springy landing. The guards she knocked out earlier were still sprawled on the ground and they raced to the hoverbike, Cosima clinging to Delphine’s waist as they sped off back to the beach cabin.   
  
“Worst holiday ever.” Cosima jokingly whined.  
  
“Oh yes. I don’t think we will be coming back here.” Delphine chuckled as she stroked Cosima’s clasped hands with her free hand.   
  
“Hey, the sex was pretty good, and you were so hot when you saved me earlier.”   
  
“I’m glad you think so.” Delphine giggled loudly, the wind making her a little giddy.  
  
Cosima’s tone grew a little more serious: “And, I’m glad that you accepted your powers. You seem a little different; a little more at peace.”  
  
“You are right ma cherie, I am. It was important, to be able to use my powers for good. I am sad Rachel had to die, after all…that could have been me, but I don’t regret saving you.”  
  
“You could never be like her. For a start you are way sexier, and second, and more importantly, you chose not be like her. That’s why I love you.”   
  
“I love you too. I think we should get off this planet now.”  
  
“Oh fuck yes.” Cosima whooped.   
  
They left the speeder parked in the dust, raced inside the cabin to collect and pack their belongings and have sex. (A few times).  
  
Delphine left some credits on the ruined bed to pay for everything she had destroyed and threw Sarah’s armour back into the chest from whence it came. They then got back on the bike and sped across the open ocean, Cosima delighting in the creatures that shimmered in the water below, small horns or fins breaking the surface occasionally, as Delphine steered the speeder deftly, having grown rather accustomed to it by that point.  
  
Very far away in the distance, they could see out of the corner of their eyes that the pirates had reached the beach and Delphine breathed a sigh of relief that they had not left a moment later. She might have to end up paying for the cabin after they pirates were finished with it, but they had escaped with their lives and that was enough.  
  
As soon as they reached the spaceport, they sold the bike to a jawa for precisely twenty credits, and Delphine had to admit that she was a little sad to see it go, until Cosima pulled her away. The miserable Zabrak was rather surprised to see them again that soon, after all, they had meant to stay for a few weeks. But he authorised their departure, nevertheless.   
  
Neither of them felt true peace until they were safely in space, away from the threat of murderous pirates and as Cosima set the starship to autopilot, they collapsed in their chairs, as if their strings had been cut. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////   
  
They did not go back to Rishi again. As soon as they were back in Coruscant they fell into bed together and slept for hours before taking a stroll in the shadow of the senate tower, glad for the cool breeze and tamed flora. It was rather quiet then and they laid on the benches looking up at the infinite galaxies above them.


	15. Epilogue

And so life went to back to normal, or however normal life for them could get. Delphine had remained a scientist, and worked in the same lab as Cosima, but only part time. The other days of the week she worked with the Jedi Masters to further rebuild Coruscant and learn to control her emotions and powers. They had accepted that she might never be fully one of them, but after the recent Sacking of Coruscant the Order had been different, more flexible, more accommodating. They trained her to use lightning that came from serenity rather than anger and she was pleasantly surprised at its soft blue colours, and she had in turn taught them that it was alright to allow passion to influence a battle.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////

It happened eventually, in a mundane setting, as many of the most extraordinary events do. It was a Tuesday in February. They were walking to work, hands clasped together. They were almost at the fountain near the Senate Tower. The sky was a beautiful sherbet explosion of yellows, pinks and oranges as it always was it was in the morning. Delphine stopped abruptly on the bridge.

She never thought that she would be the one to say it first. But the time for being afraid had run its course, as everything does in the end. So, she said it.

“Marry me.”

Cosima grinned. She grinned a lot, that was true. But it was different this time. It was not a display of optimism, like it had been before. It was not a declaration of hope. It was soft and small and gigantic in its own way. Her smile was one of confirmation and acceptance, of surprise and reciprocity.

But mostly, it was (as most things are) borne of love.

“Obvs.”

And then Cosima pushed Delphine into the fountain behind her and Delphine squealed throwing water everywhere, before Cosima half-cannonballed in after her.

“Brat!”

 

Fin.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and thank you for reading. This is my first ever fanfiction, and I hope to contribute good things to this precious fandom. I live in Britain so the spellings will be British.  
> Have a nice day.  
> P.S. If you don't know what a Pangolin is, look it up. The cuteness will change your life.
> 
> -FunkyPangolin.


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